Summer Guide

Band to release first album this summerBy Kelly-Jane Cotter| @KellyJaneCotterLindsey Miler and Keith McCarthy in their Asbury Park home/studio.

Lindsey Miller and Keith McCarthy of Americana band The Sunday Blues were born to make playlists.

Not only do they keep their vinyl collection prominently displayed in their swell apartment on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, they are quick to jump on Spotify to mix and match and find the perfect segue from track to track.

“I would much rather sit at home with a glass of wine and make mix tapes all night than go out,” Miller said with enthusiasm.

McCarthy is so thorough that he will note the album from which he gleaned each track on his list, and Miller will specify that when she lists “Ramble On Rose,” she means the live version from Europe in 1972, rather than any performance before or since.

Miller also notes that The Sunday Blues have been known to cover “Homegrown Tomatoes,” the Guy Clark song that topped her summer playlist.

They are the BFFs any music geek would love to have.

This summer, The Sunday Blues will release its first album, self-financed and recorded in Miller and McCarthy’s home studio, featuring songs the band has been honing for three years in local clubs such as The Saint in Asbury Park.

For now, the band is a trio, with Drew Clelland on bass and Miller and McCarthy multitasking on vocals, guitar and drums.

Miller grew up in Edison and McCarthy in the Manahawkin section of Stafford. The couple adores Asbury Park and hope the Summer of ’13 brings crowds to the city and its beach.

They themselves don’t go anywhere else in the summer.

“The beach is gorgeous and is so close to the downtown,” Miller said, “so I would encourage people to come off the beach, check out the downtown, sit in the shade and then walk back to the boardwalk. There’s really no other place like it around here, and I don’t think a lot of people realize how we have that combination of boardwalk and city so close to each other.”

As an enticement to new visitors, Miller and McCarthy revealed their favorite spot in town for cheap eats.

“Tacos el Cotija on Main Street,” McCarthy said. “If you’re a gringo and you like tacos, you gotta go. It’s authentic and it’s delicious.” (Editor’s note: Tacos el Cotija is currently closed for renovations, but is scheduled to open later this week.)